


Champagne

by perhapsaperson



Series: Holiday advent challenge 2019 [10]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:47:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22028062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perhapsaperson/pseuds/perhapsaperson
Summary: At 12 am on January first, 2008, several things happened. In some quiet, far off corner of the Pegasus Galaxy, Rodney McKay opens a door.Holiday advent challenge day 10, prompt: champagne
Series: Holiday advent challenge 2019 [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1566133
Kudos: 8





	Champagne

**Author's Note:**

> just a little team new year fic. I wanna see them celebrating stuff together, ya know?

At 12 am on January 1st, 2008, several things happened. On Earth, there were fireworks, parties, the ball drop in Times Square. There was a huge televised countdown, and the world watched together.

On a distant planet in the Milky Way galaxy, an unfortunate on-duty SG team cracked open their rations and set off their licitly smuggled sparklers. Further away, in the neighbouring pegasus galaxy, in the ten thousand year old ancient city of Atlantis, a huge party rages. Fireworks, which they’d taken great lengths to bring from earth, light up the night sky, bottles of champagne are popped, crew members of all walks of life sling their arms around each other and sing into the new year.

Finally, in some quiet, far off corner of the Pegasus Galaxy, Rodney McKay opens a door. 

“Got it!” He says triumphantly.

“Go!” John calls from where he’s covering the hallway outside. Rodney slips through the door, swiftly followed by Ronon, Teyla and finally John himself. He keeps shooting as he goes, not turning his back on the hallway where several wraith guards (who weren’t supposed to be here, this base should’ve been empty, but of course they could never be that lucky). McKay manages to get the door closed, locking the guards behind them. 

Fortunately, there weren’t many wraith left on this base, because it was virtually abandoned, and Rodney managed to shut down their computers before they could send out any distress signals, so for now the danger level was reasonably low, at least by their standards.

A few minutes after the door is opened, the team is safely holed up in another hallway, catching their breath as Rodney works on opening another door.

“Oh, hey,” he say suddenly. “It’s past midnight. Right now, on Earth, it is officially 2008.”

“Happy fucking new year,” John mumbles, not taking his eyes off the door.

\- - -

After Rodney had gotten them through that second door, all they’d had left to do was walk their way back to that planet’s Stargate. No more complications came up, no more difficulties that they didn’t expect. Just a very long walk.

By the time they actually made it back to Atlantis, completely exhausted, it was nearly 3am on January second, any and all New Years celebrations were long over.

“You missed quite the party,” Sam teases when she drops by the infirmary to check on them during their post-mission medical exam.

“It was pretty wild,” Says Keller, shining a light into John’s eyes. “You should’ve seen the fireworks.”

“Sorry we missed it,” John says, and he does mean it. After everything that had happened their previous years; the wraith attack on the city their first year, then the ancients coming back to the city their second, then the replicator attack their third, this was their first time really celebrating the holidays in Atlantis. He was looking forward to it. But, with his their luck being what it was, it was never to be.

“Why don’t you take a few days off,” Sam offers. “You look like you need it.”

John thanks her, and a few short minutes later he and his team are released from the infirmary with clean bills of health and orders to rest. He parts ways with the others out in the hall, all silent and exhausted, and treks back to his quarters. He collapses into bed, asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.

\- - -

By the time John wakes up the next day, it’s early afternoon and the sun is high in the sky. It’s a slow day. He spends a few hours writing up his mission report, once he’s done he doesn’t really know what to do with himself. 

He decides to go for a walk, and spends who knows how long wandering the city halls. Outside, it’s a bright, sunny day. In the city, everything is calm, quiet, and John, well rested, without any impending danger to worry about, feels more at peace than he has in a long time. It’s a rare moment on Atlantis, for things to be this quiet, and he let’s himself appreciate it, really taking in the beauty of the city, the ocean, the sky.

A thought occurs to him as he’s passing the mess.

He walks right into the storage room in the back, waving off the one guy still working in the kitchen. There are still a few bottles of champagne stored in the closet, left over from the festivities. He pulls on off the shelf and heads off.

He knows exactly where each of his team will be at this time of night, on a day off. 

He goes to Teyla’s quarters first, and he finds her there, just as he expected, meditating. Her way of unwinding after a stressful mission. 

“Come with me,” he says, without preamble.

“Where to?” She asks, already moving to get up.

“We’re gonna go get Ronan and Rodney,” he says, waving with the bottle in his hand in lieu of explanation.

Next he goes to the gym, where he finds Ronan training, just as he expected. They watch him for a moment, practicing landing blows against a helpless punching bag.

“Take a break, buddy,” John says, leaning against the doorframe.

Ronon glances at him, raising an eyebrow. “What for?”

John shrugs. “Nothing much.”

Ronon looks curious, but he follows John out into the hall. 

“Where are we going?”

“Rodney,” he says simply. Not any sort of explanation, but Ronon accepts it nonetheless. 

John knows Rodney will be working late, catching up on everything he missed during their unplanned absence. They find Rodney in the lab right where they expected him, absorbed in whatever he’s doing on his laptop.

“What are you doing here?” Rodney greets them with his usual charm.

“Here,” John sets the champagne bottle and three glasses on the table.

“What’s this for?” Rodney asks as the others seat themselves around the bench; John and Teyla across from him, Ronan next to him.

“New year,” Johns says.

“It’s January third.”

John shrugs. “We were busy. Besides, we’re in another galaxy, what does it matter that we missed some arbitrary marker on Earth.”

“Fair,” Rodney says, taking a glass that John’s filled up.

“Here, let’s have a toast,” John says. The others raise their glasses. “To the new year. It’s gonna be a good one, I know it.”

Their glasses clash together, and they drink their champagne, and they laugh together. Outside the room, the city is quiet.

**Author's Note:**

> not sure if the times mentioned 100% line up with cannon but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


End file.
